Real win derby as Courtois defies barrage of ‘rats’
THIBAUT Courtois overcame the jeers – and a barrage of toy rats – while Garet h Bale delivered a timely reminder of his ta lents as Real Madrid beat At letico Madrid 3-1 in a feist y cit y derby on Saturday.
Real’s fifth league win i n a row means they sit second for the first time since September, above Atletico, and just five points behind Barcelona.
Barca could restore the gap to eight by overcoming At hletic Bilbao on Sunday but another impressive performance at the Wanda Metropolitano, aided by some fortunate decisions, puts Real back in t he t hick of t he t it le race.
“We will a lways fight until t he end,” Real coach Santiago Solari said. “We have to keep going like t his.”
“They were better than us,” said Atletico boss Diego Simeone. “We have to respond quick ly.”
Bale had been lef t out of t he starting line-up for t he second time in four days, after he was a lso a substitute against t he Catalans in t he Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
The Welshman’s goal, his 100th for Real Madrid, was not lost on Sola ri, even if his celebration ra ised eyebrows, after he appeared to make an insulting gesture towards t he At letico fa ns.
Bale’s finish ended t heir hopes of a comeback after Sergio Ramos’ penalt y put Real i n front at halftime, with Antoine Griezmann earlier cancelling out Casemiro’s acrobatic opener.
“It’s great for Gareth,” Solari said. “He was ver y happy and happy about his goal, which helped decide the game, because the game was a live and he finished it.”
By the time Thomas Partey was sent of f wit h 10 minutes lef t, t he game was up, and Courtois could have been forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief at t he final whistle.
The Belgian, who spent t hree years at At letico, was play ing in t he white of Real for t he first time at t he home of his former club.
He was whistled when he came out to warm-up and then before k ick-of f too, as t he At let ico ult ras behind the goal hurled dozens of toy rats towards his head. A sign read, ‘Thibaut - Rata’, just to underline t he point.
“I knew what was going to happen,” Courtois said. “A derby is a lways tough but I had to keep a cool head and stay focused, not to think about what they threw at me. It doesn’t matter.”
Alvaro Morata had gone the opposite way, a lso v ia Chelsea, now for At let i af ter sta r t ing out at Real Madrid. He was cheered and, despite a quiet game, would have scored but for VAR ruling out an impressive lob in t he second half.
Real sur v ived an early onslaught and, wit h v irtually t heir first attack, scored. Ramos rose high at a corner and the ball was flicked to the back post where the unmarked Casemiro threw himself into t he air, and bicycle k icked in from si x yards.
At leti were still snarling as Karim Benzema was shoved into the hoardings and Sergio Reguilon tumbled into the cameras. Jose Gimenez clashed with Vinicius Junior, a scuffle t hat would resurface again soon after.
First, though, Griezmann equalised, sent through by Angel Correa, who was fortunate not to be penalised for a robust challenge on Vinicius. Griezmann, just onside, poked the ball through Courtois’ legs.
Vinicius’ pace had been a constant thorn in Atleti’s side but Gimenez refused to be beaten, diving in from behind when he had little chance of getting the ball. The foul might have been outside the box but VAR disagreed and Ramos whipped the penalty into the corner.
Morata had barely featured in t he first half but he was celebrating a goal early in t he second, only for his superb lob over Courtois to be ruled out by VAR for of fside.
Bale came on for Vinicius but At letico were on top and again, felt aggrieved, af ter Morata fell over a clumsy Casemiro challenge in the box but referee Estrada Fernandez was unmoved.
The push subsided and Bale delivered t he final sucker-punch. Benzema made t he space and Modric the pass but Bale had a lot to do from t he angle on t he left. His driven shot flashed across Jan Oblak and nestled i n the bottom corner.
Atletico’s misery was compounded late on as Thomas earned a second yellow for a nasty challenge on Toni Kroos and Bale could have added a fourth but headed over.